The word ‘give‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to transfer possession or allow.

For example:

  • I gave Sammy my jumper. (transfer possession)
  • My mum has given me permission to go to the party. (allow)

 

Give is an irregular verb. The past tense is gave and the past participle is given.

phrasal verbs with give

Phrasal verbs with ‘give’ include:

  • give away
    meaning – distribute something for free, tell a secret
    example – I’ve bought mum a puppy! Don’t give it away, I want it to be a complete surprise.
  • give back
    meaning – return something you borrowed, or someone has lost
    example – I gave back the money you lent me last week. Have you forgotten?
  • give in
    meaning – surrender or submit and essay, a form, homework etc.
    example – I gave in my final assignment then headed straight to the pub.
  • give in to
    meaning – let your desires control you or reluctantly agree to something
    example – I’ll have to give in to the kids and let them have a puppy.
  • give off
    meaning – emit something
    example – My small torch gives off a lot of light.
  • give out
    meaning – distribute or emit
    example – The crowd gave out a huge cheer when he won the Oscar.
  • give over
    meaning – stop doing something annoying or pass the responsibility to another
    example – When Terry got too old, he gave the company over to his son.
  • give up
    meaning – stop doing something or surrender
    example – I give up! Tell me the answer.
  • give up on
    meaning – lose faith in something
    example – I gave up on my team winning the league months ago.
  • give + reflexive pronoun + up
    meaning – surrender to the police
    example – The gang gave themselves up as their hideaway was surrounded by armed police.

picture phrasal verbs with give

phrasal verbs with give

Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘give’ in more detail and see some examples in use.

phrasal verbs with give - give away
phrasal verbs with give - give back
phrasal verbs with give - give in to
phrasal verbs with give - give in
phrasal verbs with give - give off
phrasal verbs with give - give out
phrasal verbs with give - give over
phrasal verbs with give - give up on
phrasal verbs with give - give up
phrasal verbs with give - give + reflexive pronoun + up

You can download a table of phrasal verbs with give below.

Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.

 

Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with give, how about learning the idioms with give too?